This invention relates to a method and apparatus for efficiently mounting coronodes in charging units, in copiers or the like, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for mounting long coronodes that minimize singing and sagging of the coronodes in copiers or the like.
There are many corotrons and scorotrons that employ a thin wire for a coronode. In instances where a wire is close to a shield, screen or receptor over long distances, there can be a tendency for the wire to sag and/or oscillate. This problem grows in severity as the length of the device is increased. Obviously, this singing and sagging of coronode wire could be detrimental to the operation of the charging unit.
Various solutions have been advanced toward minimizing the above-mentioned problems, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,875,407 shows the use of insulated pins to support a coronode outside of its corona generating region. A central support that presses a coronode outwardly at its central portion is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,144. In European Patent Application No. 0,147,206A2 a segmented coronode scorotron charging device is described that includes the supporting of a long coronode on the insulating sides of an open box. The coronode is arranged in an overlapping diagonal pattern to provide uniform charging. Japanese Kokia reference, No. 52-12841 teaches a similar overlapping pattern. U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,804 describes the use of monofilament lines to guide paper near a coronode. The monofilament is never in contact with the coronode itself. Pins that support coronode wires are shown on opposite sides of a central opening in U.S. Pat. No. 3,470,417. Even with this activity, a solution to the problem of singing and sagging of long coronode wires that is cheap and efficient is still needed.